Dipnorhynchus
Name:
Dipnorhynchus
(Double snout?).
Phonetic: Dip-no-rin-kus.
Named By: Jaekel - 1927.
Classification: Chordata, Sarcopterygii,
Dipnoi, Dipteriformes, Dipnorhynchidae.
Species: D. sussmilchi
(type).
Diet: Carnivore/Durophagovore.
Size: About 90 centimetres long.
Known locations: Australia? and Germany -
Hunsrueck Slate Formation.
Time period: Mid Pragian to Emsian of the Devonian.
Fossil representation: Few specimens.
Dipnorhynchus is a genus of primitive lungfish that already shows changes from its sarcopterygian ancestry. The skull is no longer in two halves and instead, in the loosest terms, forms a box. The palate of Dipnorhynchus was fused to the skull, like in land dwelling animals, and instead of having cheek teeth, Dipnorhynchus had dome like protrusions on the palate. The form of the palate and the fact that it’s was fixed to a solid skull indicates that Dipnorhynchus most likely hunted for creatures such as hard shelled molluscs and invertebrates, the shells of which could be easily broken up by the crushing palate.
More information on the above fish can be found on their corresponding pages; Ceratodus, Chinlea, Dipnorhynchus, Dipterus, Eusthenopteron, Gooloogongia, Griphognathus, Gyroptychius, Holoptychius, Hyneria, Macropoma, Mandageria, Osteolepis, Panderichthys, Rhizodus, Strunius, Tiktaalik (upper estimate).<
Further reading
- A new species of the lungfish Dipnorhynchus from
New South Wales. -
Palaeontology 25(3):509-527. - K. S. W. Campbell & R. E.
Barwick - 1982.
- An advanced massive dipnorhynchid lungfish from the Early Devonian of
New South Wales, Australia. - Records of the Australian Museum
37:301-316. - K. S. W. Campbell & R. E. Barwick - 1985.
- A new species of the Devonian lungfish Dipnorhynchus
from Wee Jasper.
- New South Wales. Records of the Australian Museum 51:123-140. - K. S.
W. Campbell and R. E. Barwick - 1999.
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